CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.-- The University of Virginia used a career performance by sophomore Drew McKnight to advance to the 1998 ACC Men's Lacrosse Semifinals for the third consecutive year as they defeated Duke 11-9 tonight in Charlottesville. McKnight scored a career-high five goals, including three in a pivotal 5-0 run, as the Cavaliers won a see-saw battle, defeating Duke for the second week in a row at home.

Virginia's Michael Leahy started the scoring with an unassisted blast just two minutes into the contest. The Blue Devils answered with a 4-0 run in a 2:36 span to take a 4-1 lead at the end of the first quarter. Duke's Greg Patchak had a pair of goals in the run.

The Blue Devils extended their lead to four when John O'Donnell scored just 22 seconds into the second quarter on an unassisted crank from the right side. Virginiea's Jay Jalbert scored the first of his hat trick just 30 seconds later to cut the deficit to three, but Duke's John Fay pushed the margin back to four 30 seconds later.

McKnight then got hot for the Cavaliers, scoring a pair of unassisted goals in a 19 second span. Jalbert scored his second goal three minutes later to slice the deficit to one at 6-5, and McKnight scored off a Jalbert assist two minutes later to knot the score at 6-6 with five minutes to go in the half. David Wren's goal with 17 seconds remaining in the first half gave the Cavaliers a 7-6 lead, their first lead since the opening goal.

Duke tied the game for a third time as Jared Frood connected on the crease from Fay just 47 seconds into the second half. The Blue Devils went up by one at 8-7 as Fay scored on an extra-man opportunity ten minutes into the third quarter. For the second week in a row against the Blue Devils, the Cav+/-aliers were held scoreless in the third quarter.

But like the previous meeting, the Cavaliers came alive again in the final stanza with McKnight and Jalbert leading the way. McKnight tied the game 53 seconds into the fourth quarter, and then scored again from Jalbert 47 seconds later to put the Cavaliers up for good. Jalbert added an insurance goal four minutes into the fourth quarter to give the Cavaliers a two-goal cushion, and Hanley Holcomb's first career goal gave Virginia a three-goal lead with 10 minutes to go in the fourth quarter.

Duke managed only three shots in the fourth quarter, and the first two were saved by goalie Chris Sanderson, who recorded 13 saves against 28 shots on the evening. Duke's final goal came with just over two minutes to go as Scott Diggs hit from five yards out from Fay. Duke won the ensuing faceoff, but the Cavalier defense held strong, keeping the Blue Devils out of the cage for the final two 'minutes.

With the win, the Cavaliers advance to the ACC finals for the third consecutive year. On Sunday the Cavaliers face off against the top seed Maryland. The TerraVpins defeated the Cavaliers 14-9 in College Park earlier this season.